The present disclosure relates generally to routing communications between entities over one or more telecommunication networks. In particular, the present disclosure relates to Internet Protocol (IP) and the use of a media proxy in a Voice over IP (VoIP) system.
A telecommunications network generally includes a collection of terminals, links, and nodes, which connect together to enable communication between users of the terminals. There are many examples of telecommunications networks, for example, computer networks, the Internet, the telephone network, and others. Messages associated with communications are generated by a transmitting or sending terminal, which are routed through one or more networks of links and nodes until they arrive at a destination terminal. The intermediate nodes handle the messages and route them across the correct link toward their final destination. The messages typically consist of control (or signaling) portions and media portions, which may be sent together or separately. The control (or signaling) portion carries instructions for the nodes on where and how to route the message through one or more networks. The media includes the actual content that the user wishes to communicate or transmit (e.g., encoded speech, encoded audio, encoded video or an email).
Over the years, a number of protocols have been developed to specify how each different type of telecommunication network should handle the control and media portions to accomplish routing efficiently. One such protocol is Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which is an IP telephony text-based signaling protocol suitable for integrated voice/data applications.
In typical SIP architectures, SIP signaling (or control) and Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) media follow different paths, and the control elements responsible for call-setup and features do not have access to the RTP media. Several architectures insert a media proxy into the RTP media path, during call setup, for the purposes of monitoring or manipulating the media.
Session Description Protocol (SDP), described in IETF RFC4733, describes multimedia sessions for the purposes of session announcement, session invitation, and other forms of multimedia session initiation. SDP is used from VOIP signaling protocols like SIP, H.323 and some minor VOIP protocols to transfer media setup information about a multi-media client from one point A to another point B.
Voice over IP (VoIP) is an architecture that encompasses many protocols, each of which are used for some form of signaling of call capabilities and transport of voice data from one point to another.
Existing architectures with a media proxy do not effectively utilize resources, thereby incurring increased costs, poor quality of calls due to increased latency, and offering features that do not address all user needs.
With the ongoing trends and growth in telecommunications, it would certainly be beneficial to find better ways to improve telecommunication schemes, by lowering costs, increasing call quality, and introducing enhanced features for users that do not currently exist.